painter



March 26, 1940. w s PMNTE 2,194,953

lauern@l Filed Feb. 1.3, 1939 Patented Mar. 2.6, 1940V UNITED STATES *BUCKLE- g.` n Walter S. Painter, Middlebury, Conn., lasvsignor to Waterbury Buckle Company, Waterbury; Conn., a corporation of Connecticut 1 j Application February 1s, visassiser'iai No. 257,162

This invention relates to buckles and more especially to sheet-'metal buckles of a type primarily intended for use on Suspenders, garters, and the like and commonly known as adj'listing-buckles.V 5 One object of the present inventionis toi pro- I vide an improved construction for sheet-metal buckles whereby the wear andI tear'onthe wear- `ers garments due to the rubbing-engagement of the buckles therewith may be reducedto a mini- -1'() mum and, by means of which, bodily discomfort to the wearer may be avoided.`

In pursuance of the foregoing object, theinvention contemplates an improved construction and arrangement of parts in a sheet-metal buckle l5 comprising articulately-connected bodyand bent-lever members wherebyv the rubbing-contact between the buckle and the wearers apparel is confined to a smoothly-continuous surface of one of the articulately-connected members 30 of the sheet-metal buckle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved coupling-connection.between the body-member and bent-lever member of a sheetmetal buckle wherein the articulating-connecveloped by the smooth imperforate walls of the said buckle members which, in their-strap-grip'- ping position, are arranged in closely-intertting relation to each other to provide smoothly-conpo tinuous surfacesv and rounded corners and edges in and around thoseportions of the buckle which are subjected to rubbing-engagement with, the garment or person of the wearer.

With the above and other objects invview, as

-35 will appear to those skilled inthe art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawing:

o Fig. 1 is a View in front elevationof a buckle constructed of sheet-metal and of a type inf tended primarily for use on Suspenders and other garment-supporters, the buckle being shown as applied to a suspender-strap;

v45 Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top planview thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in `vertical medial Section taken on the line '3 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, the buckle'being removed from the suspender-strap, with the bodymember shown in. open relation to the bent-lever member; i

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the body-mem- 55 ber of the sheet-metal buckle removed; and

tions are arranged between and substantially-ensc'laims. (o1. 2am-V191) l r l `bowed forwardly, as shown .in Fig. 4, to provide a curved inner. wall I3 extending between lat-f' erally-spaced imperforate lside-plates lll-Hl` ex-k 15 tending from an 'upper vcurved marginal-flange' l5 .at thetop of theiro'nt` plate I2' to a ylower curved marginal-flange 'l5 at the bottom of said front plate l2." The rear edges of saidupperr and lower marginal-flanges l5 and I5 are ar- 20 ranged lsubstantially in a common planewith'respect to j which the strap-'gripping lever-arm ofA the bent-lever is in parallelism in one ofits extreme positions and past which it projects be- M neath the upper curved marginal-ange l5 yin 25 its other extreme position.` l l TheA imperforate side-plateslli-4M according to theiembodied form of the invention showni in the drawing, are generally rectilinear in' profile and havetheir rear edges l'l-ll arrangedyingo a commonlplane substantially parallel to the common7 plane of the upper and lower marginal-v flanges 'I5' and lli-of the body-member l0. tegrally-formed with the'sidefplates lll-I4 and projecting inwardly therefrom at the rear edges 35r thereof are pintles or tongues l8-l8 which are deected inwardly into transverse alinement,

The said tongues or pintles Iii-I8 are disposed slightly -below the upper edgesv of the side-plates l4-l4 to provide stop-shoulders ISl-IS for lim- 40 iting the 'clockwise oscillatory movement, as

viewed in the drawing, of the body-member -lll `with respect to the bent-lever member II.

The bent-lever member l l comprises a suspension-lever arm generally designated by the ref- 45 erence character `ill! and a gripperlever arm v which is generallydesignated by the reference` character 2|, thevsaid lever-arms `being integrally united at and by a right-angled bend 22 which intervenes between and substantially de- 50 nes the said lever-arms Vwith respect to each other. L

The suspension-lever arm 2li, as shown particularly wellk in Figs. 4, `5V and 7, comprises a back platey 23 and alower end-portion 24 which` 55 is deflected slightly from' the plane of the back plate 23 to be disposed in a vertical position when the buckle is in use- The deected lower endportion 2li of the suspension-lever arm 20 is provided with a transverse slot 25 which, in eect, forms a strap-attaching or suspension-bar 26 at the bottom of the bent-lever member I I. The gripper-lever arm ZI, if desired, may be provided with marginal serrations 2l for effecting a more secure grip on the strap or web interposed between said vserrations 2l' and the curved inner wall I3 of the front plate l2 below the upper curved marginal-flange I5 of the body-member if? when the buckle is in use.

Arranged on opposite sides of the gripper-lever arm 2i at the intermediate bend 22 are two circular bearing-loops 28 formed of sheet-metal tongues which have their inner circumferential walls arranged substantially tangential to the fiat inner surfaces of the lever-arms 2| and 23 to receive the pint-les ifi-I3 at the rear edges of the oppositely-arranged side-plates lli-I4.

The laterally-spaced `stop-shoulders lil-I9 formed at the upper rear corners of the imperforate side-plates id -Ill are arranged, as shown particularly well in Fig. 5, to be brought into abutment with laterally-spaced stop-shoulders SG-- formed in the lateral edges of the back plate E3 at the upper end of suspension-lever arm 2&3 at the outer sides of circular bearing-loops 22E-2t, to thus limit theclockwise movement of the body-member It), as Viewed in the drawing.

As shown in 5, before `the sheet-metal buckle has been assembled in position on a strap or web, the body-member I@ of said buckle is moved in a clockwise direction, according to Fig. 5, until the laterally-spaced stop-shoulders iQ-IQ at the upper rear corners of the laterallyspaced side-plates Iii- Ill are brought into engagement with the stop-shoulders Sil- 3U adjacent the bearing-loops 253-28, the said bodymember l being thus arrested in'the open position shown in Fig. 5. In this arrested position, the common plane of the rear edges of upper and lower marginal-nanges I and I6 are arranged4 substantially parallel to the gripper-lever arm 2l so that the end of a strap 3l may be readily passed over the upper surface of the gripperarm El, passed downwardly over the serrated forward marginal edge thereof and, for example, after being threaded through the upper loop of a suspender-tug connection (not shown), the said suspender-strap 3l may be threaded through the transverse slot 25 in the deflected lower end 2F41 of the suspension-lever arm 2G and connected to itself to form a permanent loop 32 about the suspension-bar .i of the suspension-lever arm 2d.

From the foregoing, it is readily seen that the adjusting-buckle comprises sheet-metal bodyand lever-members pivotally-connected by interengaging pinties and bearing-loops which are encased within the said buckle-members and thereby prevented from coming into Contact with the person or wearing apparel of the user while, at the same time, avoiding the placement of these parts in such a way that they would constitute projections or irregularities on the exterior walls of the buckle where they would be likely to snag andtear articles of wearing apparel.

It is apparent, furthermore, that the construction and arrangement of parts described above contributes materially to simplicity of design; adaptation of outward form to the mechanical purposes of the buckle; and hence conduces to neatness of appearance and ornamental appeal. The buckle, in its entirety, when closed and in use has an inherent continuity in form and outline; presents smooth and unbroken exterior surfaces and rounded contours; and, in consequence, renders the outer wall of the buckle practically devoid of sharp angles and projections.

A very desirable feature of the buckle resides in the provision of an unbroken and smoothlycontinuous rubbing surface on the back plate of the buckle to which the contact between the buckle and the person or wearing apparel of the user is confined.

The invention may be carried out inother specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of :the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to beV considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range' of the appended claims are intended to be-embraced therein.

I claim:

1f. In an adjustable supender buckle, the cornbination with a body-member having laterallyspaced side-plates provided at the upper rear corners thereof withy coaXially-arranged inturned pintles; of a bent-lever member having a gripper-arm and an angularly-relatcd suspensionarm, the said bent-lever b-eing also provided with coaxially-arranged bearing-loops located at the bend therein andpivotally mounted upon the said pintles, thesaid bearing-loops being positioned in inwardly-spaced relation to the lateral edges of the said suspension-arm, the said gripper-arm of the bent-lever projecting forwardly from between and substantially in tangential relation to the said bearing-loops, and the said lateral edges of the said suspension-arm projecting laterally outside of the said bearing-loops substantiallyflush with the oppositely-presented outer surfaces of the said side-plates and extending downwardly past and below the bottom extremity of the said body-member.

2. A suspender buckle, comprising: a bodymember havinga front-plate` provided with top and bottom arcuate flanges and oppositely-arranged side-plates centrally disposed with 'respect to the said arcuate flanges and presented rearwardly from the said front-plate, the said side-plates `being provided at their rear edges adjacent the upper edges thereof with oppositelyarranged inwardly-presented pintles; and a bentleverV member having a gripper-arm and an angularly-related suspension-arm, the said bentleverbeing also provided with coaxially-arranged bearing-loops located at the bend therein and pivotally mounted on the said pintles, respectively, the said bearing-loops being positioned i'n inwardly-spaced relation to the lateral edges of the said suspension arm and having their cuter ends in oscillat'able engagement with the oppositeA inner surfaces of the said side-plates, the said gripper-arm projecting forwardly from between and at the top of said bearing-loops, and the said suspension-arm extending downwardly from the said bearing-loops past the bottom arcuate ilange on the front-plate and terminating in a strap-suspension bar below the bottom arcuate flange on the said front-plate, the said suspension-arm being extended laterally outside of the said bearing-loops of the bent-lever member and across the rear edges of the side-plates of the said body-member and having its lateral edges substantially iiush with the outer surfaces of the said side-plates.

3. A buckle, including: a body-member having a front-plate provided with rearwardly-presented top and bottom marginal flanges terminating rearwardly in a common plane and having rearwardly-presented side-plates extending rearwardly past and closing the end spaces between the said top and bottom marginal flanges, the said side-plates having at their rear edges, and adjacent their upper edges, coaxially-arranged pintles extending inwardly therefrom, the said pintles being spaced from the upper edges of the said side-plates, and the rear'edges of the side-plates between the upper edges thereof and thesaid pintles providing stop-shoulders for the said body-member; and a bent-lever member comprising a strap-suspension arm having its vopposite lateral edges disposed substantially-iush with the outer surfaces of the said side-plates, coaxially-arranged bearing-loops inset from the lateral edges of the said suspensionarm and pivotally mounted on the said pintles, v

with their outer ends in rotational abutment with the inner surfaces of the said side-plates, and

a gripper-arm extending forwardly from between the said bearing-loops and past the said terminal plane of the top and bottom marginal flanges on the said front-plate, the upper por- WALTER s. PAINTER. 

